


Blue Eyes Don't Lie

by DashFlintceschi



Category: Bring Me The Horizon, You Me At Six
Genre: Dan's a big bad alpha wolf, M/M, Supernatural Elements, lycanthropy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-09-22
Packaged: 2018-02-09 07:58:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1975062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashFlintceschi/pseuds/DashFlintceschi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While at college, Josh decides to take the Underground one night, but it turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life... Or does it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't part of the mythological Creatures Alphabet Challenge, this is a chaptered story I started writing a while ago and decided to post here. The first chapter is kind of based on a plot point from the film Creep, if anyone's wondering why they recognise it.

I hated walking through London by myself at night more than I hated anything else in the universe. It was cold, dark, empty and terrifying. Which is why I made the stupid mistake of taking the Underground that night. I had had to stay late at college, having my project to finish. It was half ten by the time I finally left, only managing to walk three streets before I ran down the steps to the brightly lit subway. The last train was due 10 minutes after I got to the platform, aching all over from the heavy bag of filming equipment hanging from my left shoulder. 

I was exhausted after having spent 13 hours editing a short film about the ghosts that were supposed to roam the abandoned tunnels of the Underground. It was my project, my baby, the film that was going to get me into university. I looked around the barely occupied platform, noticing an empty bench 20 feet away, calling out to me. I eased myself down onto it, closed my eyes for a few seconds, and when I opened them again, the platform was empty, the screen on the wall blank. I looked at my watch. 11:45. I'd fallen asleep and missed the stupid train.

With a heavy sigh, I hauled myself to my feet and headed for the exit, only to find big metal shutters blocking my way. I screamed in frustration, banged my fists on the shutter, then leant against it. That was when I heard it. Low, threatening snarling from behind me. I turned around, keeping my body pressed against the shutter, and discovered two wolves standing at the end of the long corridor, one slightly smaller than the other, with light brown fur, the larger one was jet black, both with their teeth bared, snarling loudly as the approached me. I looked to my left, and was greeted with a tiled wall, but when I looked to my right, I saw another corridor, took my chance and started sprinting along it.

Within seconds of running, I was on the ground, the smaller, lighter coloured wolf standing over me, snarling as it looked me over, then, with a loud snarl, clamped its jaws around my shoulder as its claws ripped at my chest, causing me to let out a bone-shattering scream, before passing out from the pain.

When I woke up, I felt caked blood slowly drying on my throbbing shoulder, and a dull ache in my back from something underneath me. Hang on, those were train tracks… The second I realised that, I tried to get to my feet, but the small, light brown wolf from earlier pounced on me again, snarling, his ears back as his claws dug into my shoulders. Over the wolf's growling, I heard several people laugh.  
“Let him be, Maxi, he's one of us now,” a voice called, and the wolf, who was apparently called Max, stopped snarling and stalked away. 

When I followed his movements with my eyes, I saw him heading in the direction of the voice, where several guys were sitting in ripped up armchairs, all in various states of undress. Half way between me and the chairs, one of which was empty, Max suddenly changed from a wolf to a guy who was quite a bit shorter than me, his hair the same light brown as his fur, his body now upright and lithe, his milky white skin almost glowing.

He threw himself down into the empty chair, and they all stared at me intently.  
“What are you?” I rasped, and they all smiled.  
“We’re lycanthropes, and now so are you, thanks to Max here,” a tanned, toned guy told me, his icy blue eyes sparkling as he said it.  
“W-what? I don‘t know what that means…” I rasped, and they all grinned.  
“It means you can turn into a wolf at will,” the same guy told me.  
“Th-that can’t be true…” I rasped, my eyes wide, and they all laughed.  
“Well, it is, whether you like it or not,” the same guy told me, then got to his feet, walked over to me and knelt beside me. “Now, what's your name, kid?" He asked as he slowly helped me sit up.  
“Josh,” I managed to whimper as the pain in my shoulder intensified, and pain blossomed in my chest.

When he had me sitting right up, he let me fall against his chest, and he stroked my hair.  
“I like it, it suits you. I‘m Dan," he replied, and I nodded. I closed my eyes, but didn't fail to notice his body shift as he motioned to someone for something. After a few seconds, I felt Dan turn me round slightly and tug the ruined collar of my t-shirt out of the way, then a soft tongue started licking the wound on my shoulder. My eyes shot open, and there was a wolf sitting in front of me, his long, shaggy, light brown fur moving in time with his head as he licked my wound clean.  
“What the hell is he doing?” I asked, and Dan smiled.  
“You're one of us now, and we take care of our own, he's cleaning away the blood and making sure it doesn't get infected,” he explained, and I nodded.

When the wolf, who Dan, while introducing the others, told me was called Chris, finished cleaning my shoulder and chest, he turned back into a human, and they all smiled at me.  
“Right, now it's time for you to strip off and experience your first transformation," Chris told me, and I bit my lip.  
“Is it going to hurt?” I asked softly, and he smiled and shook his head.  
“No, not in the slightest, that whole ‘writhing around, screaming in agony’ thing is a load of bullshit,” he told me, and I nodded.  
“Ok, someone's going to have to help me, though,” I replied, and within seconds, Dan's hands were sliding up my t-shirt, gently pulling it off, at the same time, Chris was undoing my belt and jeans, then slid them down, pulling my boxers with them.

When I was completely naked, and feeling slightly self-conscious, Dan and Chris slowly lifted me to my feet.  
“Ok, now, focus your mind on changing into a wolf, and your body will do the rest,” Dan told me, and I nodded. ‘Ok, I'm a wolf ,I'm a wolf.... Nothing's happening.…’ As I thought this, my back made me drop to a crouch, and fur sprouted. When I'd changed, the others all followed suit.  
“You didn't believe me that it would work, did you?” Dan asked, one ear tilted back.  
“Not really, but who would've?” I replied, then lifted my head as high as possible. “What's that smell?” I asked as a thick, tangy smell hit my nostrils. The others all copied my actions, and wagged their tales slightly.  
“Jordan’s here,” Matt replied, just as the door swung open.


	2. Chapter 2

Standing in the doorway was a tall man with short black hair, leather jacket, a Machine Head t-shirt, tattered jeans, equally tattered converse and a black bag hanging from each shoulder. 

“Dinner time!” He yelled, and the others all ran to him, tails thumping the ground as they sat at his feet, watching patiently as he sat the bags on the floor and started pulling huge chunks of raw meat from them. 

As they all started eating, Jordan looked up, and noticed me, still sitting where I had been when he came in. 

“We've got a new one,” he stated softly, then stepped over the others, walked over to me, stopped about two or three feet away from me, and crouched down, holding his hand out to me. “Come here, boy, it's ok, I'm not going to hurt you,” he called softly, and I cautiously crept over, until I was within his reach, and he rested his hand on the top of my head, gently rubbing, then scratching behind my ears, which I'm reluctant to admit felt pretty good.

While one hand was scratching my ears, he reached into the bag that was still on his shoulder and pulled out a chunk of meat, then sat it on the ground at my feet, before backing away slowly. I looked at it in disgust for a few seconds, then bowed my head and sniffed it, before taking a small, cautious bite from it. I chewed it experimentally, then, almost as soon as I'd swallowed the first bite, I sunk my teeth into the chunk again, savouring the strong tang of the meat, and the flow of blood that ran over my tongue. It only took me a few minutes to eat it, despite the fact that it was almost as big as me.

Once we were all done eating, Jordan sat on the floor, and the other four crowded around him. He reached into a bag I hadn’t noticed, and pulled out a comb that looked more like a tiny little rake. He looked at each of them critically, then looked over to me.

“Come here, boy, let’s get all that clumped fur out,” he coaxed, holding his empty hand out and curling his fingers towards himself in a ‘come here’ motion. 

I eyed the comb warily, not moving from my spot. That thing looked like it would hurt. Dan turned to look at me when he realised I wasn’t moving, then came over and started nudging my side with his muzzle, gently pushing me towards Jordan. I quickly realised neither of them were giving up, and walked slowly over to Jordan, deciding to just get it over with.

Once I was close enough, I sat down and looked up into his eyes, no doubt in my mind that the wariness I still felt was written all over my face. He cooed softly to calm me as he scooted a little closer, then started running the tiny rake through the fur on my back. I felt knots come undone and matted fur come loose, but surprisingly, it didn’t hurt in the slightest.

I happily sat and let him groom me, until he ran the comb over my left shoulder and down my chest, making me yelp and back away quickly as white hot pain flared up along the path the comb had taken. He looked at me in concern and started to move towards me, but I snarled loudly and backed up further, making him freeze, his eyes wide.

I wondered then, as I took in the fear on his face, if he’d ever needed to feel scared down here before, despite being surrounded by wolves. It occurred to me, then, to wonder if he knew what we were. I wanted to ask Dan, who seemed to know everything, but I couldn’t stop snarling, and had backed myself up until my back had hit the wall.

Everyone watched me warily as I tried and failed to stop the aggressive snarls coming from my throat, until Matt came over slowly, watching me to make sure I wouldn’t turn on him. I didn’t take my eyes off Jordan, though, until Matt was right beside me, gently nudging the side of my neck and licking my muzzle, which calmed me down so quickly that I found myself confused and bewildered as the snarls slowed down and died.

Matt continued his calming ministrations as Jordan slowly got to his feet and crept over to us, keeping his eyes locked with mine and unblinking the whole time. He sat down in front of me, and reached out to touch my chest, flinching as I let out a warning growl, but his hands were unwavering as his thin fingers gently parted the dark fur on my chest to reveal the deep gashes from Max’s claws. 

He breathed in sharply through his teeth as he looked at them, then moved his hands up to my shoulder to get a look at the deep bite there.

“You’re in pretty bad shape, huh, buddy?” He mused softly as he gently stroked my head, and I bumped his arm with my nose and gave his wrist a quick lick as an apology, making him laugh softly and rub my ear.

After a few minutes of him rubbing my head and ears, he glanced down at my chest and sighed.

“I think I’m going to have to take you home with me, bud. These need to be taken care of, and an old subway control room isn’t the best place for you to be with wounds like these,” he murmured, more to himself than me.

He got to his feet again, then wrapped his arms around me, lifting me slowly, until he was sure I wouldn’t lash out again, then adjusted and tightened his arms around me and turned to leave. What neither of us expected, though, was when all four of the others went over to the door and looked at Jordan expectantly.

“You’re not letting me out of here without you, are you?” He groaned softly, then sighed in resignation. He went over to the door and nudged it open with his foot, letting the others out before him. As he followed them out, I heard him sigh to himself.

“The guys are going to kill me.”


	3. Chapter 3

The others stayed close around Jordan’s legs as they followed him to a shutter than resembled the one I’d encountered. The only difference was this one had clearly been butchered with a pair of bolt cutters, leaving a huge hole in the middle of it. The others jumped through easily, waiting patiently as Jordan slowly and carefully climbed through, putting unnecessary effort into avoiding jostling me.

It turned out that Jordan only lived a few streets away from the station, and within five minutes, we were in the open plan living room of his third floor flat. It was empty and silent, the only light coming from the very realistic looking electric fire. He settled me on the large and surprisingly comfy dog bed that already lay in front of the fire, then disappeared into the kitchen. The others all settled around me, watching me with concern.

“You alright?” Chris asked softly, and I nodded as best as I could.

“Does he know what we are?” I whispered, and Dan laughed softly.

“No, he just thinks we’re a surprisingly docile pack of wolves that turned a part of the Underground into a den. He also can’t understand us, so don’t worry about keeping your voice down,” he explained as Jordan came back, this time with a large first aid box in his hands.

He quickly disinfected the wounds, doing his best to ignore the low, continuous growl that had started up in my throat when the disinfectant first touched my skin and made it burn. 

Once he was done, he sat back and inspected his work.

“I think I’ve done all I can. You really should see a vet, but if I take you to one, they’ll phone Animal Control in a heartbeat, so this’ll have to do. I’m going to trust you not to bite at them, so don’t make me get the Cone of Shame out, alright?” He murmured softly, rubbing my ear one last time, then got to his feet, put away the first aid box, and retreated to bed. We settled down ourselves, and it didn’t take me long at all to fall into the best sleep I’d had in a while.

What felt like minutes later, I was ripped from sleep by a loud, Northern accented voice.

“What the fuck?!” Before I could even lift my head, I felt four solid bodies surround me, all snarling loudly in warning at the potential threat.

There was silence for a moment, bar the snarls, before the sound of rushing feet and Jordan’s voice.

“Ok, guys, just calm down, I can explain, alright?” He attempted to placate, coming over to us just as I gave up on sitting up, rolling onto my stomach instead, and I caught sight of the source of the commotion. Five guys were standing behind the couch, looking confused and more than a little scared.

Jordan sat down on the floor next to me and started stroking my back as he turned to his friends and began explaining everything to them. How he’d taken a wrong turn in the Underground and stumbled across the others, how he’d noticed how thin they were and started feeding them, how he’d discovered by accident that they were oddly docile and fond of being petted, then what had happened last night, emphasising that he’d tried bringing just me back to the flat, but the others had refused to let him leave with me unless they came too. 

His friends were quiet for a minute, taking in the information and watching as the others stopped snarling and settled around Jordan and me, or in Matt and Dan’s cases, on top of us, as Matt flopped down on Jordan’s lap and Dan gently settled on the dog bed with me; his head, front paws and chest resting on my back. 

Finally, one of them spoke.

“How the fuck do you forget you’re surrounded by _wolves_ and start scratching one behind the ear?” He asked incredulously, his bright blue eyes wide as they flitted between us, as though he was still scared one of us would suddenly attack him.

“I honestly don’t know, Tom. This one,” He placed his hand on Dan’s head. “Came over and started sniffing me while the others were eating, and I just started petting him without thinking. When I realised what I was doing, I honestly thought I was going to die. You have no idea how surprised I was when he rolled over to get his belly rubbed instead,” he laughed, smiling encouragingly when one of his friends; who looked a lot like Tom, only taller, skinnier and covered in a lot more tattoos, slowly made his way over and sat in front of Dan and me.

He eyed us warily for a second, then reached out to pet me, flinching and quickly pulling his hand back as Dan started growling.

“It’s alright, I think they’re just a little over protective of him right now. He won’t hurt you, he’s just warning you,” Jordan reassured, and his friend reached forward again, flinching once more as Dan’s growling restarted, but followed Jordan’s advice and closed the gap, scratching my ear gently.

He seemed to gain confidence after that, but that could be because I decided I didn’t care if I looked stupid, and let myself enjoy it; leaning my head towards him and pushing it against his hand as I groaned in satisfaction at the blissed out feeling it gave me. I started noticing my surroundings again when he moved to scratch the back of my neck instead, and felt the steady vibration against my back as Dan continued to growl.

“Chill out, would you? You never know, you might get your belly rubbed if you do,” I told him with a grin, or the best I could manage with a dog mouth, at least.

By this point, the rest of Jordan’s friends had come over to pet the others, and without a word, Dan stopped growling, got up and padded over to where Tom was sitting, dropping down across his lap and rolling onto his back, his tail thumping loudly against the floor as Tom’s hand found his belly.

I shuffled forward as best I could with the pain in my shoulder, and rested my chin and paws on a bare, brightly tattooed knee, wagging my tail experimentally as his equally tattooed hand returned to my ears.

“Hey, looks like Oli’s made a friend! Better not let Oskar find out,” Tom laughed as he nodded in our direction. I looked up as ‘Oli’ chuckled, and my heart jumped into my throat as I realised I was being petted by the most gorgeous guy that ever lived.


	4. Chapter 4

Suddenly, I felt self-conscious and about six inches tall. I couldn’t explain why Oli looking like a tattooed angel made me feel like that, but I couldn’t help it as my ears flattened against my head, I shuffled backwards and a small whine escaped my throat. I heard claws scrabbling against the wooden floor, and within seconds, Max, Matt and Chris were standing around me protectively, snarling loudly, while Dan had pounced on Oli, front paws pressing his shoulders against the floor as Dan snarled, snapping at his face threateningly.

I glanced around, they all looked shocked, except Jordan, who looked betrayed. I had no idea if that look was because he thought Oli had hurt me, or because we had seemingly turned on him. I looked back to Dan, and realised how close his teeth were getting to Oli’s throat.

I struggled up from the bed and limped over, I tried shouting Dan’s name several times, but he ignored me, his jaws mere millimetres from tattooed skin. He reared back, and I knew this was my last chance to stop him. While his balance was off, I jumped on him, shoving him away from Oli and covering his body with my own.

“Stop! For god sake, stop! He didn’t hurt me!” I screamed, and Dan stopped fighting me.

“Then what the fuck was that all about?!” He spat, catching me off guard as he flung me off of him, pinning me to the floor instead.  
I whimpered softly, deciding to just get it over with. I explained my strange reaction to Oli as quickly as I could, and he snarled.

“Are you fucking kidding me?! All this because you think he’s pretty?!” He roared in my face, and before I could react, he sunk his teeth into my neck, making me scream in pain as I tried desperately to wriggle away from him.

After what felt like eternity, but was probably only a minute or so, he pulled away, let me go and stalked over to the dog bed, flumping down onto it with a huff. Everything was silent for a few seconds, until Tom slid over to me and rested his hand on my side.

“What the fuck just happened?” He asked in a small voice, and I heard Jordan sigh.

“He’s the Alpha. The little ’un must’ve freaked out for no reason, or one the Alpha thought was an overreaction, so he punished him,” Jordan explained, and I felt the sigh Tom gusted out ruffle the fur on my side.

“Did he really need to be so… Vicious about it?” He asked softly, I managed to catch Jordan’s nod from the corner of my eye.

“If he doesn’t, the rest of the pack could see him as weak, they could try to take the Alpha position from him. So he’s vicious to make sure they never question his position,” He told them, and I could tell he’d done a lot of research on wolves and packs since he’d found them.

I lay where Dan had left me, too shocked and scared to move, ignoring the comforting hand that ran up and down my side. Jordan disappeared into the kitchen, clattering around for a while and emerging with five bowls in his hands. He went around setting a bowl in front of each of us, making sure Dan got his first, so as not to break some hierarchy rule.

He sat mine down last, then plopped down next to Tom, gently inspecting the bite on my neck. He murmured something about it not being too bad, then nudged the bowl a bit closer, urging me to eat. I glanced at it disinterestedly, then looked away, making him sigh sadly.

“Come on, Blue Eyes, you’ll feel better if you eat,” He coaxed gently, but I didn’t move, until I heard a snarl from behind me.

“Get up and eat,” Dan snapped, making me whimper and struggle to sit up. 

I ate slowly, taking tiny mouthfuls and chewing for as long as possible. After each mouthful, I glanced over at Dan, checking if he thought I’d eaten enough, but each time, he glared at me and let out an irritated grunt, letting me know I had to keep eating. When he was done with his own, he came over and sat next to me, growling softly as he watched me eat. I forced myself to continue, figuring he’d stop growling when he was happy with what I’d eaten.

He didn’t stop growling until the bowl was empty, and I quickly retreated onto Tom’s lap, this time accepting the comforting arm that wound around me as his other hand rubbed the side of my neck. Dan lay down next to my empty bowl and watched me intently. 

“Hey, bugger off, go,” Tom shooed, waving his arm at Dan.

“He’s not doing anything, leave him alone,” Jordan defended, making Tom huff.

“He’s scaring the shit out of Blue Eyes, is what he’d doing. Feel him, he’s trembling,” Tom retorted, grabbing Jordan’s hand and placing it on my side. I hadn’t actually realised I was trembling until then.

Apparently, my new nickname was ‘Blue Eyes’, even though I was pretty sure Dan’s eyes were a more noticeable shade of blue than mine. I wasn’t complaining, though, it was better than little ‘un. Jordan seemed to have taken Tom’s side, nudging Dan with his foot until he got up with an annoyed huff and went over to lie with Max.

Oli shuffled over to us, frowning as my ears dropped against my head and I shuffled closer to Tom, until my back was pressed against his stomach.

“I don’t know what I did to scare him. I was just scratching his ears,” He told them softly, his eyes sad as he watched me burrow my head under Tom’s arm. I watched Jordan from under Tom’s elbow as he leaned forward, feeling my ears gently. He ‘hmm’ed to himself as he felt every millimetre of my ears, then shrugged. 

“I can’t find anything wrong with his ears, so I don’t think you hurt him. I don’t think we’ll ever really know what happened,” He informed him, rubbing my ears a little more firmly now that he knew there was nothing wrong with them.

I finally started to relax, until Dan came back over. Jordan tried to get him to go back over to the dog bed again, but he wasn’t having any of it this time. He weaved past Jordan and Oli, and wormed his head under Tom’s arm. I felt his teeth clamp down on the scruff of my neck, then start tugging gently. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt, but I couldn’t help the whine of fear that slipped out.

“Just move, I’m not going to hurt you, I promise,” He mumbled, his voice muffled. I debated with myself for a few seconds, then decided it would be easier just to do as he said.

As soon as I started to stand up, he let go and backed up. He nudged me over to the dog bed, then made me lie down on my side. Once I was settled, he flumped down next to me and started cleaning the bite on my neck, nudging my muzzle with a quiet apology as I whined softly in pain, and when he continued, he was much more gentle about it.

Once he was done, he nudged my shoulder to get my attention.

“Do you know why I punished you?” He asked gently, and I sighed.

“Cause I’m an over-dramatic twat?” I hedged, making him snort with laughter. He became serious again immediately, though.

“If it were just a case of you being over-dramatic, I’d have laughed it off. You scared the hell out of us, I almost killed him because you let your emotions get the better of you. If it had just been the five of us, there wouldn’t have been a problem, but when we’re around humans, especially ones I’m not sure we can trust yet, you’ve _got_ to be more careful, alright?” He explained, and suddenly, I wasn’t scared of him any more. I understood now, being the Alpha meant that he was responsible for all of us. He hadn’t punished me for being an idiot, he’d done it because I’d put all of us in danger. I didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened to us if I hadn’t stopped him from killing Oli. 

I confirmed that I understood, and promised to be more careful, and he gave me the closest thing to a grin that he could manage.

“Excellent, now go finish getting your cuddle, if you want,” he told me, cocking his head towards Tom, who’d stopped watching us once he was sure Dan wasn’t about to attack me again. I considered it for a moment, then shuffled over and wriggled around until I was part of the piled hug the others had going, laughing as Max and I both turned and stared at Dan expectantly until he joined the pile.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the day went quieter than the start. The five of us stayed in our dog pile, dozing on and off, while Jordan and his friends sat around talking. At one point, they got a little loud, causing Dan to shout at them to shut up, and even though all they heard was a snarling bark, they seemed to get the gist, as they quieted down after that.

The only drama came in the middle of the afternoon. I’d just drifted awake from a small nap, when a scent filled my nose that instantly had my hackles raised as a growl tore from my throat. I expected Dan to think I was being over-dramatic again, but within seconds, all four of them were snarling with me.

I could feel confused eyes on us, but I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from the door. Almost a minute after I’d caught the scent, there was a knock on the door, and Dan jumped up at the same time as Tom, only Dan had moved to stand between us and the door, while Tom was going to open it.

On the other side, was a plastic, bleach blond bimbo, a Miniature Pinscher on a leash at her feet. She leaned around Tom and glared at Oli.

“You win. Take your mutt and leave me the fuck alone,” she spat in a nasal voice, shoved the handle of the leash into Tom’s hand, then spun around and tottered away on her stupidly high heels. We could still smell her as she made her way to the lift, and as long as I could still smell her, I couldn’t seem to stop the growls.

Tom stayed standing by the closed front door, the tiny dog still on his leash, as Tom looked nervously from us to his brother.

“We may have a problem. They don’t seem to like Oskar,” he commented, watching Dan carefully in case he went for Oskar.

The horrible woman’s scent finally dissipated, and the growls died in my throat. I hated seeing Tom look so nervous and almost scared, so I got to my feet, and after I got a nod of approval from Dan, I slowly went over to Tom and Oskar, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.

Tom watched me warily as I made my way over, but made no move to snatch Oskar from harms way. Once I was next to them, I made a show of sniffing around Oskar’s tiny head and wagging my tail, to show them that Oskar wasn’t the problem. I giggled to myself and wagged my tail more as he raised himself up onto his back legs to sniff me back.

I heard a collective sigh of relief from behind me, and Tom leaned down and unclipped Oskar’s leash from his collar. I heard him hang the leash up, then he crouched down and rubbed both of us on the head.

“Hey, you made a friend, huh, Ozzy? Looks like you and Blue Eyes are getting on pretty well,” Tom chattered happily as he petted us, then turned to Jordan.

“Have you let this lot out since you brought them home?” He asked, and I heard Jordan smack his forehead.

“Fuck, I didn’t even think of that,” he cursed, then stood up, patting his leg to get the others moving.

Once they were all standing around the door, he produced leashes from somewhere, and handed one to Tom.

“See if you can sneak that around Blue Eyes’ neck, will you?” He asked, and suddenly, the situation hit me.

“Woah, woah, I am not shitting outside!” I insisted, backing up to dodge Tom’s hands.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered,” Max reassured me, I eyed him unsurely, but let Tom slip the leash around my neck.

Once they were ready, Tom kept the handle of my leash in his hand, and took Dan’s from Jordan, who kept the other three. As they lead us along the hall to the lift, Dan moved over to walk next to me.

“So, why were we growling at wannabe Barbie?” He asked, and for a few seconds, all I could do was stare at him in surprise.

“None of you knew?” I asked softly as they tried to corral the five of us into the lift without any tails or paws getting caught in the doors.

“No, we just knew that you felt threatened by her, for some reason,” he told me, and I sighed.

“I have no idea why. I caught her scent, and I just… Started growling and couldn’t stop,” I looked to him for an explanation, hoping he wouldn’t punish me again. Thankfully, all he did was mull it over for a few minutes.

We were out of the lift and just about to leave the building when he finally turned to me again.

“You know, our kind mate for life,” he mentioned somewhat casually, and my head shot around to stare at him.

“No, I did not fucking know that!” My voice had gone high-pitched, and he laughed.

“Yeah, it’s something to do with pheromones. Max and I are mates, and Chris and Matt are mates.” 

“So, why are you telling me this?” I asked him, trying and failing to see where he was taking the conversation.

“Well, wannabe Barbie was obviously Oli’s ex, and you did have that weird reaction to him earlier…” He hinted, and suddenly, I understood.

“You think he’s my mate? That I reacted to his pheromones without realising?” I asked, and he nodded.

“It’s the only reason I can think of, and it makes sense,” he told me as we were lead into a park.

Once we were in the middle of the park, they unclipped the leashes, and I looked to Max expectantly.

“Follow me,” was all he said, then took off towards the trees at a steady trot. He lead us through the trees to a block of public toilets that obviously hadn’t been used for a while.

I was reluctant to go inside, considering the outside was filthy, but Matt almost dragged me inside, and I was surprised to find it spotless. We quickly changed back to human form and went about our business.

Once I was done, I filled one of the sinks with water to have a quick wash. It must’ve been a good idea, as the others soon followed suit. I’d gotten used to all the nakedness now, even my own, so I started up a conversation as I tried to get the bar of soap to lather up.

“So how did you guys end up in all of this?” I asked, frowning as the soap still refused to cooperate. Matt took pity on me and handed me one from an empty sink, which thankfully lathered up straight away.

“Well, Matt’s story is the same as yours, he accidentally ended up somewhere he shouldn’t have, I felt threatened, and I bit him; mine is almost the same, I went into an old, creepy house on a dare, turned out a pack was living in there. Normally, they’d have claimed they were squatters, but I saw one of them shift forms, so the Alpha had to turn me, so I couldn’t tell anyone without fucking myself over. We turned Max and Chris when we realised they were our life mates, which I’m assuming you’ll do to Oli once the time is right,” Dan rattled off, and I held up my hand.

“Wait, how did you guys know you’d found your life mates and I didn’t?” I asked, by this time, we’d finished washing and had dried off as best as possible. Dan opened his mouth to reply, then stopped and held up his hand. We all listened carefully, and I caught it. Tom and Jordan’s voices, steadily getting closer. 

Without a word, we all shifted forms and silently slipped out the door. We looked around to find them, and I spotted a large pond through the trees.

“Wanna have some fun, guys?” I asked with a laugh, and without waiting for a response, I ran through the trees as fast as I could and did the dog version of a cannon ball into the freezing cold water.

As my head broke the surface, I heard four splashes around me, then two loud groans from the bank.

“We’re never going to get them dry,” Tom lamented, and Jordan huffed.

“They’re going to fucking stink, too,” He grouched, then put his hand to his mouth and let out a loud whistle in an attempt to get us out of the water. I laughed loudly, which came out as a happy bark, then joined the others, who were play fighting in the middle of the pond.

We messed around in the water for about half an hour, before we started to feel sorry for Tom, who only had a thin hoodie to keep him warm, and had started to shiver violently. We all made sure we were far enough away from him as we shook the water out of our fur, then I bounced over and sat at his feet, still panting from swimming and wagging my tail happily. We all sat still and let them put our leashes back on, then trotted beside them easily as they led us back though the woods.

As we walked, I turned to Dan.

“You never did answer my question,” I told him, and he frowned as he tried to remember what I’d asked.

“Oh, yeah. I think it’s just because we’d been Lycanthropes for longer. We’d already learned how to filter and decipher the millions of smells we’re constantly bombarded with, whereas you’re still a little puppy, and you’re hurt, so we haven’t been able to teach you anything yet.” 

When we got back to the flat, one of the Matt’s, who I think they called ‘Vegan’, was the first to see us. He took one look at our drenched fur, and the puddles of water forming under us, and laughed, which made everyone else turn and laugh with him.

“Good luck getting that lot dried off,” he sniggered, laughing more as Tom flipped him off.

“Apparently, they like ponds,” he informed them dryly, and I decided to take revenge on his behalf. The other Matt stood up and started to walk towards the kitchen, and I ran over to him, pouncing on him so he fell to the floor. I lay on top of him and rolled back and forth, getting him as wet as possible.

Once I was happy, I got up and bounded over to Tom, who was trying to get the others into the bathroom to get us dried off. As soon as we were all in and the door was closed, Tom crouched down and rubbed my shoulders.

“Good boy! Yeah, you’re such a good boy!” He told me with a grin as Jordan handed him a towel. 

I sat still for the towel drying, but after ten minutes, they gave up and pulled out a hairdryer instead. I had planned to cooperate and sit still, but it turned out I was ticklish, so I spent the whole time giggling and squirming. In the end, they gave up on getting me dry, and just turned the electric fire up as hot as it would go, and laid me in front of it on a towel. 

Once I was comfy, I settled down for a nap, but I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about what Dan had told me, and wondering how the hell I was supposed to go about explaining everything to Oli and get him to agree to being a Lycanthrope without him hating me. Dan was the first to join me in front of the fire, he took one look at my miserable face and frowned.

“Stop thinking so much, whatever it is can’t be that bad,” he insisted as he settled down beside me and rested his head between my shoulder blades. I decided then that the only way I was going to relax was if I talked it through with him. Hopefully, he’d be able to calm me down and help me figure out how to go about it.


	6. Chapter 6

As the others filtered out of the bathroom and settled around us, I told Dan what was bothering me, how I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to tell Oli about what we were and that he and I were apparently life mates without him hating me.

He listened attentively, then thought it over.

“Well, I’ve never had to consider that before, we just bit first and explained later,” he commented as he mused. A few minutes passed, until he sighed softly.

“Leave it with me, I think it’ll take a while to think it over before I come up with something good,” he told me with a soft laugh, and I nodded. I’d kind of expected it, and thankfully, talking to him about it had calmed me down enough that I could sleep.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening sleeping, other than the half an hour or so when I was feeling playful, and Nicholls had produced a rope toy from somewhere. I chased it around the living room a bit, and played tug of war with him for a while, until I got bored again and retreated back to the dog bed.

One thing I noticed was Tom seemed to get quiet and withdrawn as the day went on. I didn’t know him very well, so for all I knew, that could be normal for him, but it worried me. After I noticed, I stuck to him like glue. When he was sitting on the couch or at the kitchen table, I lay on the floor next to him, my chin resting on one foot; and when he was moving around, I was flush against his leg, watching his movements carefully to avoid being trodden on.

As soon as he mumbled to the others that he was going to bed, I jumped up and plodded into his bedroom, jumped up onto his bed and lay down, staring out the open door at him expectantly. He laughed with the others as he came in, pushing my side until I jumped down, then nudged me out with his foot and closed the door on me.

I frowned dejectedly as I heard him moving around getting ready for bed on the other side of the door, then inspiration hit. I was a wolf now, after all, so it made perfect sense to tip my head back as I howled as loud as I could. I heard someone laugh behind me, but I ignored them as I scratched the door and continued to howl.

It only took a few seconds of scrabbling claws and three howls for him to open the door again. He moved aside with a resigned sigh and I wagged my tail as I went back in.

“I better not wake up to you licking your balls next to my face,” he warned, and the others roared with laughter as he swung the door closed.

He’d shed his t shirt and changed into pyjama bottoms already, so he slid under the covers as I jumped back up onto the empty side of the bed. Instead of switching off the lamp and settling down, as I’d expected him to do, he took his laptop from the bedside table and powered it on as he settled it on his legs.

I rested my head on his hip, and his free hand slipped into the fur on the back of my neck as he logged in and opened up the internet. He quickly checked his e-mails, of which there were a ridiculous amount for something called ‘Lives & Levels’, then he went straight to Tumblr and without checking his dashboard, he went to a tag he had tracked. 

It took a few seconds to load, and then there was photo after photo of his brother. I assumed this was normal, they had mentioned being in a band several times throughout the day, so I assumed Tom was merely checking to make sure no-one was bad mouthing his big brother online.

I was wrong, though, as he scrolled through the posts and let out a sad sigh.

“Why do I have to be sick in the head, Blue Eyes?” He asked me softly, and I twisted my head to stare up at him with big, curious eyes. What the hell did he mean ‘sick in the head’? He laughed softly at the way I was looking at him and turned his attention back to the screen, his eyes turning sad as he stopped on a black and white photo of Oli, who was holding a massive stuffed toy and grinning widely.

“Why couldn’t I have been a normal person, and fall in love with someone that wasn’t my big brother?” He sighed softly, and I understood why he’d gone so quite and subdued. He couldn’t stop thinking about how ‘sick’ he was. For some odd reason, the thought of it didn’t bother me. I sat up a little, nosing and licking around his chin in an attempt to offer comfort.

He laughed and gently pushed me away. Happy that I’d gotten him smiling again, I settled my head back on his hip, fidgeting my paw and ‘accidentally’ closing the page in the process. He looked at me sceptically and sighed.

“Yeah, probably not a good idea to keep looking and upsetting myself,” he mumbled, rubbing my head as he started going through his own photos, mostly of guys skating, editing a few to take out some blurriness or some red eye here and there, then posting a few to Instagram. 

After around an hour, he finally turned off the laptop and settled down to sleep. I lay right next to him, my chin and paws resting on his forearm as his other arm rested on my back.

“I think I might have to talk the guys into keeping you. At least you don’t judge me,” he murmured as he drifted off, and I licked his hand comfortingly. I wished I could make things better for him, but Oli was mine, so he’d just have to learn to live with it.

The next morning, I continued my act as Tom’s shadow, after noticing he seemed even more withdrawn than before. I even followed him into the bathroom when he went for a shower, lying with my back to him with my eyes closed to give him some privacy.

When I followed him out to the kitchen for breakfast, Oli took advantage of the fact that my attention was focused on Tom, and slid a leash around my neck. He got a surprise when he tried to tug me towards the door, and I spun around and started snarling angrily as I grabbed the leash between my teeth and started pulling on it to make him let go.

He quickly let go in shock, and I wriggled and pulled until I was free of it. Chris plodded over and nudged me gently.

“What’s the matter? I thought he was your life mate?” He asked softly, and I sighed.

“He is, but Tom’s having a rough time right now, he was way too appreciative of having someone to listen to him without judging him last night, so I just want to stick to him right now, until he’s feeling a bit better,” I explained to them, and Chris nudged me again.

“On you go, then, he’s waiting for you,” he encouraged, and I nudged him back in thanks as I turned and headed to where Tom was watching me from the kitchen door. When I got to him, he looked up at Oli, who was watching me worriedly.

“Don’t worry about him, I’ll let him out once I’ve eaten,” Tom reassured him, but he still frowned at me.

“I still don’t understand what I did to upset him,” he mused sadly, and I felt guilt well up.

“I don’t think this is anything to do with you, Liv. I’m not feeling too great right now, and I think he can sense that. I think it’s why he’s following me around all the time,” Tom comforted him, and although Oli eyed him worriedly, he still nodded and left with the others.

True to his word, as soon as Tom was finished eating, he finished getting ready and slid the leash around my neck again. We met up with the others in the park, and once I’d slipped into the toilets in the woods, I happily ran around the park with them for a while. All I seemed to be doing lately was lounging around and sleeping, so I was glad to get my blood pumping a bit.

As we wandered around, occasionally play fighting, Dan trotted over beside me.

“So, what’s going on with Tom?” He asked quietly, and I sighed.

“He’s in love with his brother, so he thinks he’s sick in the head. For some reason, I don’t, though,” I told him, and he was quiet for a few minutes.

“I thought maybe they were both your life mates, but you didn’t freak out around Tom like you did with Oli…” He mused, and I sighed.

“No, but I do feel weird around him. It’s not even like a crush, I’ve had loads of those. I just… Want to protect him, he seems so vulnerable, I just feel like I need to be there all the time to keep him safe,” I explained, and Dan laughed.

“That’s how I knew Max was my life mate,” was all he said, then ran off to join the play fight Chris and Max had just started, leaving me to mull over this new information.

I felt myself start to panic slightly. It had been bad enough trying to figure out how to tell Oli, but explaining this to both of them seemed impossible. I ran over to where the brothers had settled on a bench to wait for us, crawled under the bench and hid between their legs.

I heard them both cooing worriedly to me, but it wasn’t until Oli’s legs moved from beside me and I felt him plop down on the ground beside me that I acknowledged either of them. I looked up at him with wide, scared eyes as he cautiously reached out and rubbed my head comfortingly.

After a few seconds, I decided just being petted wasn’t going to do it, so I crawled into his lap, ignoring the others as they came over, focusing on his arms around me, the long fingers running through my fur, and his soft voice as he cooed comfortingly. The four of them crowded around us, all talking at once as they tried to find out what was wrong, crowding around us as they tried to get close enough to comfort me.

I don’t remember much, one of them must have carried me back. When I finally started to calm down, I was still in Oli’s lap, but now he was sitting on the living room floor by the fire. Even though I’d calmed down slightly, I was still panicked. I knew I’d be sticking to Tom even more now, and it wasn’t just to comfort him.


	7. Chapter 7

After a few days of haunting Tom’s shadow, I calmed down and he cheered up. I stopped acting so weird around Oli, letting him pet me whenever he pleased, as long as I didn’t have to go too far away from Tom.

As the days passed, my wounds healed, until finally, Jordan decided I was ready to go back to our den in the Underground. I was apprehensive about leaving, and I could tell Tom didn’t want me to go either, but as Nicholls told him, a flat was no place for a wolf, and someone would end up contacting animal control, or the RSPCA sooner or later.

So after nine days of hiding us, Jordan snuck us back into the Underground just after midnight. He stayed with us for an hour or so, to make sure we were settled, then left us to it. As soon as he was gone, Dan shifted forms, rolling his shoulders with a groan. I followed suit as he made his way over to the couches, but a newly shifted Matt had to grab my arm supportively as I staggered, struggling to readjust to being back on two legs.

The next morning, Dan and Matt took me through the abandoned tunnels, teaching me where I could go without being spotted or hit by a train. We were passing through a tunnel that had gaps in the wall, showing flashes of a platform that was still in use, when I heard a voice that made me freeze. 

They both turned back to me in worry, but my eyes were glued to the gap in the wall beside me, or rather, the chestnut hair almost the exact same shade as mine and bright scarf.

“Josh, what’s wrong?” Matt asked softly, as I took a shaky breath.

“Elissa,” was all I could whisper as I watched my big sister move around the platform, handing out sheets of paper to anyone that would take one.

My throat tightened as her voice floated over to us as she caught the attention of an older couple and handed them a page.

“I’m looking for my brother. He went missing around a fortnight ago. He was last seen around here. Please, his name’s Josh, he’s only nineteen. Can you just keep an eye out for him, please?” She almost begged as the older couple gave her pitying looks, nodding as the woman slipped what I guessed was a missing poster into her bag and they moved away.

I seriously considered going to her, shifting back to human form and telling her everything, but before I could do anything, arms lifted me and started moving me away. I looked up at Matt, his eyes sad as he walked us back to our den. Once we got back, I shifted forms and explored the den properly, looking for somewhere to curl up and wallow for a while. I quickly realised Chris was behind me, though. I sighed in resignation and turned to him.

“They told you.” It wasn’t a question, but he nodded all the same, winding his arm around my shoulders as he lead me to what was once an office. We sat side by side on the floor, leaning against the wall as he sighed.

“I know it’s difficult, seeing your sister so worried about you and not being able to do anything, but she’d never understand any of this, not completely. If she knew, we’d all be in danger,” I knew all this already, but hearing it from someone else made me feel a little better about the whole thing.

We were quiet for a few minutes, then I turned to him.

“So, what do you think I should do about this whole Oli and Tom thing?” I asked him softly, and he sighed.

“I don’t know what to tell you. If it were me, I’d just wait until the next time they came down here, bite them, then explain. I’m guessing you don’t want to do that, though?” I shook my head and sighed.

“No, but I’m starting to think that’s the only option. Though, I suppose I could stay in human form until they come down here later, just explain everything and hope for the best,” I mused, and he laughed softly.

“You could, but I highly doubt it’ll go over well,” he laughed, and I shrugged.

“Yeah, but what else am I supposed to do?” I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder.

That was how, five hours later, I found myself sitting on one of the armchairs, fully dressed for the first time in weeks, bouncing my knee nervously as the others lay around me in their wolf forms, trying their best to keep me calm.

Just as I was about to wimp out, strip off and shift forms, the door swung open, and Jordan, Oli, Tom and Nicholls came in, talking happily. They all froze when they spotted me, and Tom’s head tilted to the side in confusion.

“You’re the kid that went missing,” the other three turned to look at him and he nodded, then pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket.

“That girl gave me it on the way down, remember? She said her brother was missing, look at the photo, that’s definitely him,” he insisted, showing them the poster. They looked at it critically, then Oli looked up at me.

“You’re Josh?” He asked softly, and I nodded.

“Yeah, but you know me better as ‘Blue Eyes’,” I replied, making three faces scrunch up in confusion, but Tom’s turned ashen, as he realised I knew his deepest, darkest secret.

I gave him a reassuring smile, then turned to the other three, who were still trying to figure out what the hell I was talking about. I’d gotten permission from Dan to ‘out’ all of us, so I put them out of their misery.

“We’re all human. Or, we were. We’re Lycanthropes, we can turn into wolves.”

There was silence for a few seconds, then the four of them started laughing. They quickly stopped as Dan shifted and stood up, then Chris, Max and finally Matt. They stared at us in shock, then Tom turned to me.

“You really are Blue Eyes?” He asked fearfully, and I nodded again.

“So we’ll finally get to find out why you freaked out on Liv?” Jordan asked with a laugh, and I felt myself blush.

“Well, I actually wanted to talk to Oli and Tom about that, in private,” I told them, and they all nodded. The others had finished pulling on shorts and hoodies they kept around, and led Jordan and Nicholls out, Chris giving me an encouraging smile and thumbs up as he closed the door behind them.

They settled into an armchair each, then looked at me expectantly. I cleared my throat and ran through everything in my head, trying to figure out the best place to start. I eventually decided to just blurt it out, just let my mouth run in whatever way it wanted to. I’ve never been sure what exactly I said, or in what order I said it in, but I got the point across, at least. I know I definitely didn’t bring up what Tom had told me. I’d decided that it was Tom’s secret, and I wouldn’t blab it, under any circumstances.

Once I was done, we sat in silence for several minutes, theirs shocked, mine nervous. Finally, Oli cleared his throat.

“So, let me get this straight. What you’re saying is, you’re a wolf thing, wolf things mate for life, based on pheromones, and our pheromones are telling you that we’re both your life mates?” He recapped, and I nodded, they both seemed to be taking it quite well, but that could be the calm before the storm. He went quiet again as he thought it through, Tom staying silent with nervous eyes as he waited to see how his brother would react.

After a few more minutes, he sighed.

“Alright, I’ve thought about it. I still think it’s weird, but I’m willing to give it a try,” he announced, and I grinned, which widened when I noticed Tom hiding a smile of his own as he nodded in agreement. We were discussing having a trial period before I bit them when the others came back. Matt poked his head around the door to check that it was ok to come in before they actually did. I waved him in, and they all piled in, quickly finding somewhere to sit.

“Well, now we know why you guys never tried to eat Jordan,” Nicholls commented, and though he laughed with us at first, Oli frowned thoughtfully until we calmed down.

“So, why are you guys so overprotective of Josh? Is it just because he’s still new to all of this, or…?” He asked, and I looked to them curiously, wondering the same thing myself.

“Because he’s a bitch,” Dan answered, and I couldn’t help feeling offended.

“I know I can be a bit grumpy, sometimes, but that’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” I argued, and Max laughed softly.

“No, he doesn’t mean it like that. He means it as in a female dog, but not. We work more in terms of dominant and submissive, but we use wolf terms for it, like, you, me and Matt are bitches, and Dan and Chris are dogs, and by the look of them, I’d wager Oli and Tom will be dogs after you bite them. Dogs are always overprotective of the bitches in their pack, especially their own bitch, and any unmated bitches that don’t have a dog of their own to protect them. You don’t have a dog, so they’re overprotective of you,” he explained, and I nodded in understanding.

After that, we ended up arguing for a while about whether or not we were staying in the Underground, or moving into their flat. It was mostly Dan against the four of them, which Tom quickly called us out on.

“What do you expect? He’s our Alpha, and he’s a damned good one, at that. We’re not going to go against him, because he’s doing what he thinks is best for us, as he always does,” I explained, noticing the proud grin Dan gave me at the praise. In the end, Dan started to waver, and turned to the four of us.

“Alright, I want your opinions. I won’t consider it a challenge or insubordination if any of you think differently, I just want to hear your thoughts,” he told us, and I shrugged.

“Well, I want to go with them, but that might just be because I miss having an actual bed, and not having to wait until I can get to a block of public toilets in the middle of the woods to go to the toilet, I’m happy with whatever you decide, though,” I told him, and after Matt, Max and Chris told him much the same thing, he turned back to the others with a sigh.

“Alright, we’ll come with you guys, but the first person that tries to question my authority gets their throat ripped out,” he warned, and Oli frowned.

“I assume you mean your authority over them, because, no offence, but I’m not joining your pack until I’ve decided whether or not I want Josh to bite me, and I’m not accepting you as my Alpha until I’ve made that decision,” he told him, and Dan nodded.

“That’s exactly what I meant, I’d never try to force my authority on anyone outside my pack,” he replied, and Oli nodded. Once everyone was happy, we gathered up what little belongings we had, and left our little den for what was hopefully the last time.


	8. Chapter 8

When we got back to their flat, we realised we had to explain everything to Vegan and Lee. We shifted forms a couple of times to prove it, I explained why I’d freaked out at Oli, but then Lee thought of a question none of the others had.

“You guys claim he only does what’s best for you, as Alpha, so why did he damn near rip Josh’s throat out?” He asked, and surprisingly, I had to think about it to remember what he was talking about.

“Oh, that was what was best for us. I put the whole pack in danger by letting my emotions get the better of me, so he punished me to make sure I realised that acting the way I did can have horrible consequences,” I explained, and he frowned, but nodded all the same. He seemed to agree with the lesson, just not the way it was dealt out.

Things went smoothly after that, until we were starting to head to bed, and Dan pulled me to one side.

“Listen, I know it’ll probably be a while before anything sexual happens between the three of you, but I think you deserve fair warning. Do you know about knotting?” He asked, and I frowned.

“I’m assuming we’re not talking about rope?” I asked, and he laughed softly.

“No, I’m talking about the dog kind of knotting. When a canine ejaculates, their penis swells and stays that way for about half an hour. With fertile pairings, it’s to ensure conception, for us, it’s just an uncomfortable nuisance. Also, despite you not having a uterus, you’ll… go into heat, as it were. It’s proper name is oestrus, basically, you’ll be constantly, desperately horny for anywhere from one to three weeks. It only happens once a year for us, during the winter, but I thought I should warn you, so you can talk it over with Oli and Tom. Really, your only options are: try to make yourselves ready for that stage in your relationship before it hits; or I can keep an eye on your pheromones, and warn you when your hormone levels are getting high, and you can lock yourself away until it’s over. Talk about it with them, and let me know, yeah?”

Once he’d told me all this, he patted my shoulder and went to bed, leaving me standing there, trying to remember how to breathe. I stood there, completely still, my mind completely blank, for a good few minutes, then turned and walked into the bedroom I was sharing with Oli and Tom, still on autopilot. They both looked at me strangely as I walked in, my eyes impossibly wide, crawled onto the bed and curled up on Oli’s lap, quickly getting closer and closer to hyperventilating. Oli wrapped his arms around me, and Tom hurried over from where he’d been getting changed, sliding onto the bed beside us and wrapping his arms around me from behind.

“What’s wrong?” Oli asked me softly, his fingers sliding up to play with my hair soothingly.

“I’m an even bigger freak than I thought I was,” I replied, my voice completely hollow. Without even realising I was speaking, I told them everything Dan had just told me.

When I was done, I looked up at Oli, then twisted to look at Tom, and they both had the same wide eyed, shocked look.

“Well, it’s October right now, so it’ll be soon, right?” Tom asked slowly, and I shrugged.

“Dan said Winter, that could be anywhere from the first week of December to the end of February. It could be soon, or it could be four, five months away,” I reasoned, and they both nodded.

“Right, I think the best thing to do, is take Dan up on his offer to keep an eye on your hormone levels, and when it’s just about time, we’ll talk about what we want to do, and go from there,” Oli suggested, and we both nodded, it really was the best option.

I informed Dan of our decision the next morning, and he was perfectly happy with it, until about lunchtime, when I’d already asked him to check my hormone levels about fifteen times. As I approached him to ask for the sixteenth time, he seemed to snap, grabbing me by the throat and going to the floor with me as he slammed my back against the floor.

“Your hormone levels haven’t changed in the slightest since you asked me ten damn minutes ago. They are not going to change anytime soon, and when they do, _I will tell you_. Stop asking me,” he bit out, the low, continuous growl rumbling in his chest making me curl in on myself and push my stomach up towards him, without really knowing why. I nodded quickly, and he let me go, getting up and stalking away.

For some reason, every time I thought of getting up, I was filled with dread, whining and curling up on myself. I stayed there for almost half an hour, until Tom came wandering in, frowning at me in worried confusion.

“What the fuck are you doing down there? Come on,” he insisted, holding out his hand to pull me up. This time, I felt no dread, easily taking his hand and letting him pull me to my feet.

Instead of answering him, I crept into the living room, unable to look Dan in the eyes.

“Dan…?” I mumbled timidly, and his head shot around, glaring poisonously.

“Don’t even think about it,” he snarled lowly, and I whined quietly, curling in on myself and shuffling back slightly.

“I-it’s not about that,” I whispered, even more timid than before.

“Well? Spit it out!” He snapped, and I curled in even further, inching towards Tom.

“I-I was w-wondering why I lifted my belly when you pinned me down, and why I couldn’t move until Tom came in,” I whispered, curling towards Tom even more. He took pity on me and pulled me against his side, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

“It’s because you’re a bitch, and I’m a dog, and an Alpha, at that. You presented your belly as a show of submission, and you couldn’t bring yourself to move because I reinforced my dominance over you, and didn’t specifically give you permission to get up, so your submissive tendencies wouldn’t let you move until I, or one of your own dominants gave you permission to move,” he explained, a little calmer now.

“But, why is he still so scared? He’s fucking trembling,” Tom demanded to know, and Dan frowned.

“Because I’m producing angry pheromones, because he’s been pissing me off all day,” he replied shortly, and Tom sighed, looking down at me.

“Have you eaten?” He asked gently, and I shook my head quickly. He lead me into the kitchen and tried to let me go, but I kept clinging to him.

“Please, don’t make me let go,” I whimpered, and he nodded, wrapping one arm around my waist again, using his free hand to dig in the fridge for what he needed to make me something to eat.

“You can still smell his angry pheromones?” He asked, and I nodded, burrowing my face into his shoulder in an attempt to cover Dan’s pheromones with Tom’s scent.

We stayed that way, Tom clumsily making me a sandwich as I clung to him, until Max wandered in.

“Try his armpit,” he announced cheerily, grinning as we both turned to gape at him. “What? You’re trying to drown out Dan’s scent with Tom’s, I can tell because you reek of fear. The place his scent and his pheromones are strongest are his armpits and his groin,so…” He trailed off, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. We both looked at each other, laughed slightly, and I burrowed back into his shoulder.

“I think we’ll stick the way we are, thanks,” Tom replied dryly, then led me over to the table and sat down with me in his lap, gently urging me to eat.

Just as I was finishing my sandwich, all the fear drained out of me, and I relaxed against Tom.

“Either Dan’s calmed down, or he’s gone out,” I told him softly, just as Dan wandered in.

“I’ve calmed down. I talked to Matt, and he made me realise that you kept asking because it’ll be your first heat, you haven’t fully established your bond with your dogs, and you’re scared. Sorry I freaked,” he told me, and I smiled at him reassuringly.

“S’alright. I should’ve realised how annoying I was being,” I mumbled, relaxed finally. I knew they could still smell the fear on me, though. The next few months were going to be hard.


	9. Chapter 9

The next month and a half sped by in a nervous blur for me, until the third of December. I had just stumbled out of our bedroom in search of food, when Dan rushed over to me, grabbing my arm probably quite a bit tighter than he realised.

“Your hormones are through the roof, it’ll be sometime in the next twenty-four hours,” he told me quietly, and I bit my lip, nodding and giving him a tight smile in thanks as I turned and went back into the bedroom, where Tom had just gotten out of the shower, and Oli was lounging on the bed with Oskar, still trying to wake himself up.

“Um, I’m not ready, I know I’m not ready…” I mumbled, staring at the floor blankly, jumping slightly when Tom gently touched my arm.

“Dan said it’s time?” He asked gently, and I nodded.

“Sometime in the next twenty-four hours, he said. I’m not ready,” I mumbled, and he rubbed my arm reassuringly.

“It’s alright, we’re not either. We’ll get the room ready for you, and you can lock yourself away until it’s over. It’ll be fine, I promise,” he soothed, and I nodded, calming down a little.

I was a nervous wreck the rest of the day, until just after seven at night. We were just finishing dinner, when a wave of calm washed over me, and all I could think about was getting to Oli and Tom. Before I could even stand up, though, arms grabbed me and dragged me from my chair, arms that definitely didn’t belong to either of my dominants. As the arms of the Alpha dog dragged me away from where my dogs scents were strongest, I did the only thing that felt right, I tipped my head back and let out an inhuman, desperate howl.

As the howl trailed away, I calmed slightly at the sound of one of my dog’s voices.

“What’s he doing? What’s wrong?” The Alpha dog behind me answered.

“His instincts have taken over, he thinks I’m taking him from you to claim him myself, and he’s scared, he’s calling for you to protect him,” the Alpha growled, turning and throwing me into a dark room, slamming the door behind me.

I spun around quickly, eyes darting all around for the Alpha, but he wasn’t there, he was on the other side of the door. I thanked whoever was listening, let out one last desperate howl to call my dogs, then found a dark corner to curl up in until they came, ignoring the maddening throbbing between my legs.

The days passed slowly, and my dogs didn’t come for me. A few times a day, the door would open, and a tray of food would be placed just inside, but every time, when it opened and I inhaled deeply, I found that the one bringing me food was a mated bitch, close to his own oestrus. Each time he came in with food, I’d lift my head, inhale to catch his scent, then put my head back down with a disappointed whine.

The place I was being held captive in wasn’t too bad, it had a bed, though I never used it; a tv that I barely even acknowledged; and a bathroom attached to it, which I used quickly and as little as possible. It held little other interest to me, once I realised it had no other door or any window that I might use to escape. The bedroom had one window, that I couldn’t get open, no matter how hard I tried. I thought of breaking it, but the only thing I could think of to use would be my own hands or feet, but the sound of the glass breaking and the smell of my blood would bring the attention of the angry Alpha, which was the last thing I wanted. The only door was locked at all times, other than the bitch bringing me food. I could try to force my way past him, but I could smell the Alpha and at least one other dog out there, I couldn’t take the chance.

Finally, after what felt like months, I woke up with the ability to think straight again. It was just getting light, so I figured it was about nine in the morning. I wandered over to the door, wincing and limping slightly at the god-awful pain in my groin, but ignored it as I leant against the wall and hammered on the door.

After almost a minute, the door slowly cracked open, and Max peeked in.

“It’s alright, it’s not a trick. I feel like myself again, so can you ask Dan to check my hormone levels, to see if it’s safe for me to come out?” I asked him hoarsely, and he nodded, calling over to Dan, who appeared at his back a few seconds later. He inhaled deeply, then nodded.

“They’ve dropped, almost completely back to normal, come on out,” he told me, pushing the door open wider.

Taking Dan’s advice, I went straight to the main bathroom and ran a hot bath. I was planning on it sometime soon, anyway, I reeked, but Dan told me it would help with the pain in my groin, and the lesser pain in my joints and muscles from being curled up in the corner for god knows how long. Just after I’d sunk into the water with a relieved groan, there was a soft tap on the door, and Tom poked his head around it.

“Hey, can we come in?” He asked gently, shuffling in with Oli at his back after I nodded. They both sat down on the floor beside the bath, and I gratefully took the steaming mug of tea Oli held out to me.

“How d’you feel?” He asked as I sipped at my tea, and I pulled a face.

“Tired, sore, just horrible in general. How long was it?” I croaked, sipping more tea to soothe the ache in my unused throat.

“Nine days, which Dan said is normal. The first few heats are shorter, to kind of ease you into it, apparently,” Tom told me, and I nodded, sinking into the water a little further as my muscles finally started to relax.

“What did you actually do while you were in there? None of them were really sure what would happen, and Max said whenever he brought you food, you were just hiding in the corner,” Oli asked, and I shrugged.

“That really was all I did. I was in ‘wolf mode’, I guess, so I just found a corner where I could see the door, curled up, and waited for you two. The wolf part of me doesn’t understand human emotions, I guess. He thought you’d come, even though I knew you wouldn’t,” I explained, and they both nodded.

We sat in silence for a while, until Tom cleared his throat.

“So, we were talking, while you were on heat. We’ve both decided that we want you to bite us. Not yet, we’re nowhere near ready for it, but we want to be your life mates,” he announced, and I grinned. Maybe the groin pain was worth it after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, Josh is human for this entire chapter. His instincts take over and he goes into 'wolf mode' mentally, but he never shifts forms.


	10. Chapter 10

The next few weeks went by quietly. The others went on and off their heats, and nothing really actually happened. Well, apart from Elissa spotting me on Christmas Eve. I was in Tesco with Tom, Chris, Vegan and Jordan; getting some last minute stuff for Christmas. I had my hood pulled low over my face, well aware that my family might still be looking for me. I was wandering along an aisle, looking for flour, not looking where I was going, and my trolley banged against someone else’s. I turned to apologise, freezing as my eyes met Elissa’s wide, shocked ones.

I quickly came to my senses, turned and rushed away before she could stop me. I heard her behind me a few seconds later, but I didn’t stop, almost running to the fruit and veg aisle, grabbing Tom’s arm to get his attention.

“We need to leave. Right now.” I gasped, and they didn’t even question it. They just left their own trolleys where they were and we rushed out. We were almost home before any of them asked.

“So, what the hell happened back there?” Tom asked, twisting around in his seat to look at me worriedly.

“I saw my sister. I could never explain all of this to her, not in a way she would understand,” I explained, and he nodded. He was frowning, though, and I could tell he didn’t really understand. I didn’t really expect him too, though. He and Oli had always been closer than close, I knew he wouldn’t really understand not telling a sibling everything.

When we got home, I pulled a chair over to a window, settled just out of view and just watched. I sat there for hours, just watching for Elissa, the police, anyone out of place, ignoring everyone around me. Even when they got worried enough for Dan to use all of his Alpha dominance to order me to move, my paranoia overpowered my instincts, and I just waved him off with a grunt.

I stayed there until about eleven that night, never seeing anyone but still not calming down. The only reason I did move was Tom. He came and stood next to me, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly.

“Babe, please come to bed, we need to talk to you, it’s important,” I almost ignored him, but the pleading, nervous tone in his voice caught my attention. I nodded and slowly stood up, my joints stiff from sitting for so long. He laced his fingers with mine, leading me to our bed, where Oli was sitting waiting with a worried frown, which eased when he saw me. He looked nervous now, though, which peaked my interest.

We settled on the bed, in a triangle so we were all facing each other. I gave them a reassuring smile, which Oli returned, slightly shakily.

“We’re ready, we want you to bite us,” he told me, his voice stronger and more confident than I expected. I nodded with a now nervous smile of my own.

“Alright, I talked about it with Dan and Matt after you told me you were almost ready. I know what to do, but just give me a second to run through it all, to be sure,” I told them, and they nodded.

Alright, I need to be in wolf form; I don’t need to do too much damage, just enough to break the skin; and I absolutely must make sure my saliva gets into the wound. It won’t hurt them anymore than a normal bite would, and they won’t feel any different, all the changes will happen while they sleep, without them even noticing. I ran through this a few times, making sure I remembered everything right. Once I was sure, I shifted forms, shuffled over to them, and cocked my head. Tom took a deep breath, then held his arm out as he nodded. I gently took his wrist in my mouth and slowly applied pressure until he winced and I tasted blood. I relaxed my jaw, but kept his wrist in my mouth for a minute, making sure as much saliva as possible got into the wound. 

When I let Tom’s wrist go, Oli immediately held his arm out, and I did the same to him. Once I was done, I shifted back and bandaged the wounds for them. I didn’t clean or disinfect them, though, in case the disinfectant reacted with my saliva and hurt them in some way.

After that, we settled down and went to sleep. Well, they did, I lay awake most of the night, worried that something might go wrong with one of them. Nothing did, though, and I fell asleep sometime after three. When I woke up the next morning, it was with a wet nose pressed against mine and a draft on my legs from a swishing tail.

“Fuck off, Ozzy,” I groaned, swatting the air. I was startled into full consciousness by a bark, far too loud and deep to be tiny little Oskar. My eyes fluttered open, and I grinned at the sight. Lying either side of me were two black wolves, one with big blue eyes, and one with laughing hazel eyes. Eyes I knew very well. I instantly shifted forms and pounced on Oli, rolling around on the bed with them. I hadn’t thought biting them would feel any different to me, but this felt amazing.

Just after New Year, Dan called us all to what he called a ‘pack meeting’, all of us sitting around the kitchen table, waiting patiently for him to gather his thoughts.

“Alright, I need to talk to you all about what’s been happening with us lately, the aggression, I mean,” he was referring to those of us that were wolves. Over the past few weeks, we’d all had frayed tempers, snapping and snarling at each other. I’d gotten so angry the day before, I’d actually raised my fist to punch Max. “The reason we’ve been this way is this flat. It’s too small for all of us, and it’s rarely safe for us to shift forms and let our instincts loose. I’ve been talking to a friend of mine, he’s the Alpha of a pack in Wales. He’s done some looking for me, and there’s a huge house in the middle of nowhere in the Rhondda valley, on sale for a ridiculously low price. It’s ours if we want it, and I think we should go for it. It’s big enough for us, and there’s no-one around for miles, so we can shift forms and go prowling all we want,” he paused as he noticed a conflicted look on Tom’s face, and seemed to interpret it correctly. “And when I say ‘we’, I mean all of us. I consider _all_ of us to be a pack, I made sure it was big enough for all eleven of us. We’ll understand if you want to stay here, but to us, you’re part of the pack, you’re family, and I think we’d all be happier together,” he finally finished, and we were all quiet as we mulled it over.

“I think we should take the house in Wales,” I announced softly after a few minutes, instinctively looking to Oli and Tom to make sure they weren’t angry. Thankfully, they were nodding, along with everyone else.

“Alright, it’s agreed, I’ll let him know,” Dan finalised, and we nodded.

Barely a week later, we were unpacking in our new den. I couldn’t seem to call it a house, or even a home, it was our den, which Chris said was a good thing. It meant I felt safe here, and considered it home, my instincts just had a different word for it. We settled in quickly, and about a month after we moved in, Nicholls, Vegan, Jordan and Lee sat us down and asked us to bite them. They’d talked about it at length, and thought about it long and hard, and they were absolutely sure it was what they wanted, so we agreed. Once they’d been bitten, I felt a strange sense of calm wash over me. Our pack was finally complete.


End file.
